Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson, Book #7 of the Mistborn Saga.
Introduction
Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson is Book #7 of the Mistborn Saga. It is also the four and final novel featuring the characters Wax and Wayne. Wax and Wayne must foil a plot started by the terrorist group called the Set to destroy their home and people.
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Summary
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Recommendation
Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson is a rousing conclusion to the series of novels about Wax and Wayne. He wrapped all the evil plots from the previous novels up in one huge plot to destroy the world. This novel contains many connections to the greater story in the Cosmere than any novel that Sanderson has published up to now. The Cosmere is the overarching narrative that connects most of his works. I enjoyed the way he wrapped this series up. It was a satisfying ending. I’m looking forward to the next section of Mistborn novels.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson.
My review of Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson. In book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archive, Rysn and Lopen must uncover the secrets of the lost island of Akinah, or it will doom Roshar.
My review of Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson, a collection with nine stories that are part of the cosmere universe. An overarching plot, which he calls the cosmere interrelated many of the author’s works. He set the stories of the cosmere on a group of worlds that are connected through magical means. He set six stories on the worlds of his published novels, and three stories are about worlds that have not had a novel-length story treatment. All the stories in this collection are excellent.
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan, Book Nine of the Wheel of Time series.
Introduction
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan is the ninth book of The Wheel of Time series. The novel follows four main plot arcs. Rand tracks the assassins who tried to kill him in the previous novel. Mat seeks to escape the Seanchan in Ebou Dar. Perrin must return Masema to face Rand, but he finds out that the Shaido captured Faile. Elayne takes over Andor, but the Borderlander’s armies besiege her. Rand’s chapters were the best ones of this novel.
Summary – Prologue
The prologue has four point-of-view characters, and each point of view sets up a plot arc for the novel.
Seaine is an Aes Sedai in the White Tower. Seaine with the help of Pevara and others are tasked with discovering the members of the Black Ajah. This is the Black Ajah Hunter Arc.
Elayne is the Queen of Andor and must protect her realm from within and without. This is the Andor Arc.
Toveine Gazal and about 50 other Aes Sedai were sent by Elaida to capture the Black Tower and gentle the Aha’man found there. They don’t succeed. This is the Black Tower Arc. Rand is on the hunt for revenge against the channelers that attacked him in Cairhien at the end of the previous novel. This is Rand’s Revenge Arc
Summary–Groups of characters
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan has four main plots.
Rand bonds with Elayne, Aviendha, and Min. He has a special night with Elayne. He tracks the assassins too Far Madding tries to kill them. Rand and Nynaeve accomplish something with far reaching consequences.
Mat seeks to escape from Ebou Dar. The plot involves freeing Aes Sedai trapped as damane by the Seanchan. He captures Tuon but realizes that she is the Daughter of the Nine Moons and will become his wife so he takes her with him.
Perrin starts bringing Masema back to Cairhein to see Rand, but he finds out that the Shaido have taken Faile.
Elayne maneuvers herself to rule Andor. She faces the threat of the Borderlander’s armies besieging Caemlyn.
Summary–Best Chapters
Four Chapters stand out in Winters Heart by Robert Jordan.
Chapter 12 A Lily in Winter. This is the chapter where Elayne, Avienda, and Min bond with Rand. Then Rand and Elyane have their special moment.
Chapter 22 Out of Thin Air. This is the chapter where Rand tracks the Asha’man assassins to Far Madding. At the end of the chapter the reader learns more about Isam.
Chapter 33 Blue Carp Street. Rand gets a clue to the assassins location. He thinks it is a trap and brings along Lan. There is a fight. Lan and Rand have an awesome moment.
Chapter 35 With the Choedan Kal. Rand and Nynaeve do something awesome and a dozen characters reflects on that action.
Recommendation
Winters Heart by Robert Jordan has some brilliant scenes but misses conclusions to many of the plot arcs explored. There are two exceptions, and they are the best parts of the novel. Both involve Rand. Rand tracks down the Asha’man assassins that tried to kill him at the end of the last novel. Rand and Nynaeve do something awesome. The reflections of a dozen characters in the last chapter were excellent.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Winters Heart by Robert Jordan.
This is the link to my review of Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan. When Rand forces the hand of one of the Forsaken, will the Forsaken defeat him or will he earn a Crown of Swords?
This is the link to my review of Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, Book Six of the Wheel of Time. Chaos reigns in the Westlands. They push Rand to the edge of insanity. Will he survive the box?
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #3 of the Vorkosigan saga by publication order and #7 by chronological order.
Introduction
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold is the third published novel of the Vorkosigan saga. It is also the seventh novel of the internal chronology of the saga. It is one of the few novels in the series where Miles Vorkosigan is not the protagonist of the novel. Dr. Ethan Urquhart is a reproduction specialist on the planet of Athos. This is a very important job because the population of Athos is only men, and they grow babies in uterine replicators. Without the doctor’s efforts, the population of Athos could dwindle and eventually expire. The cultures he received in the last shipment were unusable. Will Ethan go off the planet, risk being corrupted, and solve the mystery of the unusable samples, or will he doom Athos by doing nothing?
Summary
Dr. Ethan Urquhart is a reproduction specialist on the planet of Athos. Athos was populated only with men, with a monk-like society. They have demonized women as a corrupting force and will not let them in the colony. To continue the colony, they must produce babies by using uterine replicators. Ethan is one of the doctors who monitor the babies’ growth. His latest batch of ovarian tissues is unusable, so he must discover what went wrong to save his planet. The problem is, he must go off the planet to discover the truth and risk corrupting himself by encountering the corrupters, women.
Ethan goes to Kline Station, where the tissues came from, to find answers. Early on he meets Elli Quinn, who is a commander in the Denarii Mercenary Fleet. (Commanded by Admiral Naismith aka Miles Vorkosigan and Elli’s love interest, but that is another story.) They encounter Cetagandians who are looking for the missing tissue samples for their reasons. Reversals occur and Ethan must make hard choices to accomplish his mission of getting ovarian tissue samples to continue the breeding project.
Recommendation
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold is a nice, short, fast-paced spy adventure that comes to a satisfying ending. I appreciated Bujold’s treatment of the colony of Athos. She has taken a thought experiment of how a one-sex colony sustains itself without adding outside members and giving it a face in Ethan. The frank treatment of his sexuality was refreshing, especially since it was published so long ago and in the science fiction genre. Elli Quinn was an excellent character, and I can see why the author goes back to her in subsequent novels. Another novel featuring Ethan would have been interesting, but I am satisfied in thinking that his life in the future was quiet and productive rather than needing a stressful adventure intruding on him.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold.
In Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, they send Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy Cetaganda and save his home planet of Barrayar?
In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he desires?
In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?
In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?
In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith as a prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?
In Falling Free (Book #4 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, space engineer Leo Graf must decide between retiring or risking his life protecting his students. The novel is a fun, self-contained space opera romp.
Zoes Tale by John Scalzi, Book #4 of The Old Man’s War series.
Introduction
Zoes Tale by John Scalzi is the fourth book in the Old Man’s War series. This novel tells the events from the previous novel, The Last Colony, from the point of view of Zoe Boutin Perry. She was adopted by John Perry and Jane Sagan and is now seventeen years old. They leave their home, the only home that Zoe knew, to settle in a new colony on the planet named Roanoke. What they find at Roanoke is not what they expected. Will they protect the colony, or will the colony perish leading to the extermination of humanity?
Summary
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Recommendation
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Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Zoes Tale by John Scalzi.
Last Colony by John Scalzi is the third book in the Old Man’s War series. John Perry and his family colonized a new planet. Can he protect the colony, or will the colony perish leading to the extermination of humanity?
Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi is the second book in the Old Man’s War series. Jared Dirac is a clone with another man’s memories. He must save humanity from three allied alien races determined to destroy humanity.
The Stone Sky by NK Jemisin, Book #3 of the Broken Earth trilogy
Introduction
The Stone Sky by NK Jemisin follows three different narratives. The author set the novels on a continent called the Stillness. It’s a post-apocalyptic world or possibly a second-world fantasy land. They reveal the name of the first-person narrator in this novel. The narrator has been advising Essun from the beginning of the first novel. Essun and the people of Castrima head to Rennaris to stay for the Fifth Season. Nassun finishes what she needs to do in Found Moon and figures out where to go to fulfill her destiny. These three tales intersect and come to a dramatic conclusion which completes the trilogy.
Summary
The prologue narrator is tied to the subsequent chapters that are named SYL ANAGIST. The author set these chapters in the past before they created the Stillness. As the chapters progress, the reason that the Stillness occurred and a possible solution is revealed.
Essun wants to save the people of Castrima. She also wants to end the Stillness. She follows her principles and comes to the end of the earth to achieve it.
Nassun wants to destroy the earth to end the Stillness. She follows her principles and comes to the end of the earth to achieve it.
Recommendation
The Stone Sky by NK Jemisin is a challenging novel to read, but it is a great novel. The author expands on themes from the first and second novels and reveals more mysteries. Essun’s chapters are all in the second person and past tense. A narrator talks to her. Usually, the second-person point of view is difficult to read, but it is easier to read in this novel because it is more familiar, since the author used it in the previous novels for Essun’s chapters. The narrator’s chapters are in first person present tense and tell the story about how the Stillness was created. Nassun’s chapters are in the third person and present tense. This novel completes the trilogy very well.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Stone Sky by NK Jemisin
Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, Book #2 of The Mars Trilogy
Introduction
Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson continues the story about the terraforming of Mars a generation later after the events of the novel, Red Mars. Red Mars told the story of the first hundred people who make a permanent home on Mars. The first hundred are joined by many more immigrants to Mars. Two factions want different futures for Mars. The Red faction wants to keep Mars as close to its prehuman condition as possible. The Green faction wants to completely terraform Mars into an Earthlike planet. Which Mars faction will prevail in the fight for the future of Mars?
Summary Part One
Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson is divided into 10 parts. Each part features a different point of view character with seven total characters having a POV.
Nirgal is first generation Mars born. Nirgal grows up in the Zygote dome. It’s carved out of the South Polar ice cap. He grows up with half-brothers and half-sisters, most from his mother Hiroko. He gets out of the dome and learns about Mars by traveling with Coyote. Coyote travels and trades with the different domes of the southern hemisphere where the Red faction went after losing the rebellion of 2061.
Art Randolph is an American. The Corporation named Praxis sent him to Mars as an ambassador. The transnational corporation Praxis bought Art Randolph’s company, Dumpshares. After some time, they invited Art to a company retreat headed by William Fort, the president of Praxis, with six others. Fort learns about the employees and offers them each a unique position. He offers Art the position of Ambassador to Mars for the Praxis Corporation. Art takes the three-month journey to Mars. He learns about Praxis’ operation on Mars and wants to contact the Red faction on Mars.
Ann Claybourne is an American Geologist who wants to keep Mars in its primal state. Ann is a geologist and one of the First Hundred. She watches and thinks about the terraforming project on Mars and doesn’t like it. She talks to Coyote, and he convinces her to meet with the leaders of the Red faction.
Summary Part Two
Sax Russel is an American physicist. Sax was a terraformer from the First Hundred. He went into hiding with the Red rebels after 2061. The Reds want him to spy on the Greens so they get him plastic surgery to change his appearance and Desmond gives him a false identity. The Swiss firm called Biotique has not turned in the others that the Reds have sent to them, so they send Sax to Biotique with the identity of Stephen Lindholm. Sax as Lindholm starts his job with Biotique. He passes through Burroughs and works at their Arena Glacier facility.
Michel Duval is a French psychologist. Michel is part of the Red group that picked up Art. The group finds out that Sax was taken. The group decides to rescue him. They use the winds around the detainment facility holding Sax to help with the attack.
Nadia Chernyshevski is a Russian engineer. The refugees from Gamete come to Dorsa Brevia for the conference. At the first meeting, Hiroko speaks. Then they break into workshops. Nadia attends a workshop where they are discussing what went wrong in 2061. They conclude a coup would be better than an open conflict. They need intel before they proceed. Another workshop is about terraforming. Ann takes the leave Mars alone approach and Sax takes the make the surface livable for humans approach. The workshops continue.
Maya Toitovna is a Russian teacher and politician. Maya and most of the First Hundred meet at Sabishii. The Transitional Authority sends a force to the south. The First Hundred split up and they headed to each of the southern communities to coordinate a response.
Recommendation
The world-building in this trilogy is impressive. It details a rational and likely method for the terraforming of Mars. The author writes wonderful descriptions and creates interesting characters. The only problem that I have with the novel is that the author relies heavily on a narrative summary. While the technique of narrative summary can help tell a story that takes place over many years, it limits the connection the reader feels with the characters. In Green Mars, the reader gets to know the children of the first hundred, some of the first hundred characters return, and the reader sees the characters walk long distances in the newly aeroformed Mars. The trilogy concludes with Blue Mars. Another book of short fiction contained within the Trilogy’s timeframe was also released and named The Martians.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, Book #2 of The Mars Trilogy.
My review of Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, book #1 of The Mars Trilogy, begins as the story of the first hundred people who make a permanent home on Mars.
Under the Dome by Stephen King is a Science Fiction novel with a unique beginning. A dome suddenly appears over the Maine town of Chester’s Mill. The dome is semi-permeable, but no one can enter or leave the dome. The people inside the dome try to escape, but fail, and fight over the scarce resources. Who made the Dome, and will the people trapped inside it escape before they all die?
Summary
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Recommendation
Under the Dome by Stephen King was an excellent long novel. The characters were well-defined and the situation they were put into was interesting. The problem was the slow-moving plot and the abrupt ending.
I watched all three seasons of the CBS TV series named Under the Dome which aired in 2013, 2014, and 2015. I watched it on Paramount Plus. It was based on a novel of the same name. The TV series is kind of dopey. It started pretty well, but the character’s actions made less and less sense as the episodes went on. Sort of like what happened in Lost. In Under the Dome, they added plot points, not in the novel like using ideas from Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Alien which I thought was not successful. The TV show also changed most of the relationships and motivations of the characters from the book. The novel and the TV series both had non-ending endings.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Under the Dome by Stephen King.
Most of Stephen King’s novels are fantasy horror. Under the Dome is straight Science Fiction. Of the books, I have reviewed of him the closest in the content is the Dark Tower series which is Science Fiction Fantasy.
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.
Black Sun Rising by C S Freidman, Book 1 of the Coldfire Trilogy
Introduction
Black Sun Rising by C S Freidman is a science fiction fantasy novel about four people going on a quest to defeat the forces of the Fae that want to destroy humanity. The story begins when the warrior priest Damien Vryce enters a Fae Shop looking for answers about the Fae. He meets the sorceress adept Ciani of Faraday at the shop. They go on a quest and Ciani’s apprentice Senzei and the undead sorcerer Gerald Tarrant join them. Their quest leads them deep into the Fae lands and they have secrets revealed. Will Damien defeat the Fae and get answers to the questions that he has asked about them?
Summary
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Recommendation
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Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Black Sun Rising by C. S. Freidman.
A fantasy novel like Black Sun Rising is The Last Unicorn.
Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle is a fantasy novel about a female unicorn’s search for the rest of her kind. She faces an evil carnival owner, a creepy king in a lonely castle, and a scary red bull. Is she the Last Unicorn?
It by Stephen King is the horror story of seven people who faced horror in two time periods in the fictional Maine town of Derry. The chapters alternate between the two time periods, 1957 to 1958 and 1984 to 1985. The seven people call themselves the Losers Club. They are kids in the first period and adults in the second. They face a horror that manifests itself as Pennywise the Clown. It feeds on their fears. Will the Losers Club defeat the hidden evil in the Derry sewers, or will they perish?
Summary
In It by Stephen King, there’s horror in the sewers of Derry, Maine. The horror preys on the fears of children taking the image of what they fear. Mostly It takes the form of Pennywise the Clown.
In 1957, seven kids come together to defeat It. They call themselves the Losers club. After the battle, they lose their memories of the encounter with It. In 1985, they return to Derry to fight it again.
Bill Denbrough is the leader of the Losers Club, who feels responsible for the disappearance and death of his younger brother, Georgie. He likes Bev but doesn’t end up with her. He becomes a horror writer and returns to Derry to finish what they started.
Ben Hanscom is the most intelligent of the Losers and he has an engineering talent. He has a crush on Bev. Ben was obese as a child but loses weight as an adult. He made a lot of money as an architect and lives in Texas.
Bev Marsh is the only girl in the Loser’s Club. All the boys have a crush on her. She becomes a fashion designer in Chicago. She gets married and her husband physically abuses her.
Summary Continued
Richie Tozier is the comic of the club. He becomes a successful DJ in Los Angeles.
Eddie Kaspbrak is a hypochondriac with an inhaler. He runs a successful limousine business in New York.
Mike Hanlon is the only African American in the club. He is the only member who stays in Derry after high school and becomes the town librarian. He researches the history of Derry and calls back all the Losers when he realizes It has returned.
Stan Uris is Jewish and a Boy Scout. He’s skeptical and logical. He becomes an accountant in Atlanta.
Recommendation
It by Stephen King is a long, good novel. The novel explores the themes of coming of age and adult reflection on childhood. It reminds me of Stephen King’s novella, The Body, adapted into the movie Stand by Me. Both stories feature a group of misfit kids trying to solve a problem. They adapted it as a miniseries and also into two movies. The 1958 story in It, and the 1985 story in It: Chapter Two. The miniseries alternates the stories. The part of the story I didn’t like was an incident near the end of the 1958 story. You will know what I’m talking about if you read it. I don’t think the incident was earned or warranted. I know that my opinion of the novel would change for the better if the author had eliminated that incident or changed it into something else.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of It by Stephen King.
Drawing of the Three by Stephen King, book #2 of The Dark Tower series, features Roland, Eddie Dean, and Odetta Holmes. Roland gets one step closer to reaching the Dark Tower.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King, book #1 of The Dark Tower series, seemed to set up for a climax that never happened. What is there is a trippy and metaphysical non-ending.
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold, Book #9 of the Vorkosigan saga.
Introduction
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold is the ninth published novel of the Vorkosigan saga. It is also the sixth novel of the internal chronology of the saga. Miles Vorkosigan is the protagonist of the novel. He suffers from brittle bones because of an assassination attempt on his mother when she was pregnant with him. Miles and his cousin Ivan are sent to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. Miles becomes involved in a complex mystery. Will Miles foil the plot to destroy the Cetagandan Empire and avoid their hostile fragmented forces threatening his home planet of Barrayar?
Summary
Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan Vorpatril are sent to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. They are both young inexperienced lieutenants in the Barrayar secret service. They dock at Eta Ceta IV, the home planet of the Cetagandan Empire. The secret service sent them there to represent Barrayar at the state funeral of the dowager, Empress Lisbet. After they dock someone attacks them, they obtain a mysterious object, and they become involved in a complex plot to destroy the Cetagandan Empire. If the Empire is broken apart then the pieces will expand into Barrayan space so Miles cannot let that happen.
There are three important classes of people in the Cetagandan Empire. The haut class are the rulers, the ghem class is their military force, and the ba class is their sexless servants. The plot involves the Cetagandan class system, genetics, and the key to the Cetagandan’s future.
Ivan is exotic to the haut ladies and desirable to them. Miles has a close relationship with the haut woman Rian Degtiar, who helps Miles unravel the mystery.
Miles juggles these impossible tasks in a way only he could succeed and then he saves the day.
Recommendation
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold takes a mysterious former enemy of Barrayar and gives them context. The reader learns about why and how the Cetagandans do things. The Cetagandan background introduced in this novel is explored further in the novel, Ethan of Athos. At first, I found it difficult to understand the Cetagandan terms introduced in this novel, but by the end of the novel, I understood their meaning. I like Miles and wanted him to succeed. I liked his relationship with Rian Degtair, and how she intrigued him. I’m looking forward to reading Miles’s next adventure in my Vorkosigan saga reading project.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold.
In The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, they accused Miles Vorkosigan of treason. Will Miles play The Vor Game well enough to escape the treason charges made against him and secure the assignment he desires?
In Warriors Apprentice (Book #2 of the Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan gets involved in another planet’s war. Can he escape the mischief he started?
In Barrayar (Book#7 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan faces an assassination attempt and the birth of her son. Will she survive the regency and give birth to her son?
In Shards of Honor (Book#1 of the Vorkosigan saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan takes Betan Commander Cordelia Naismith prisoner. They take a hike in the jungle. What happens when they fall in love?
